


The New Girl in Town

by UnoPeso22



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempt at Humor, Bullies, Coming of Age, Depression, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Anst, Humor, Middle School, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-04-24 08:02:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14351319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnoPeso22/pseuds/UnoPeso22
Summary: Jane's the new girl in town and she's very shy. When the boys try to become friends with her, they figure out that something is SERIOUSLY WRONG.





	1. The New Girl

**Author's Note:**

> So basically it's 1983. Seasons 1 and 2 never happened, and it's in an alternate universe. All of the characters keep their personalities though. This story will have fluff and all that good stuff, but it will also get super dark and violent.

**NOVEMBER 4 1983**

 

“Come on, fireball his ass, Will!” Lucas shouted.

It was another morning at Hawkins Middle School. Some boys were messing around in the A.V. room. These boys were the smartest kids in the 7th grade, scratch that, in the entire school. However, they didn’t act like it.

Dustin was the funniest, but was also probably the smartest out of the group. He dealt with having a rare bone and teeth disease like a champ, and it was actually a charming trait that made him stand out.

Will was the shy boy. He never talked much and even when he did, he never said anything noteworthy.

Mike was the undisputed leader of the group. He had a complicated demeanor about him. He had moments where he’d be funny, smart, sad, mean, and nice. Mike was going through a lot of emotions; maybe this was puberty starting to crawl at him. Mike and Will had been best friends since kindergarten and obviously had a closer bond towards one another than they did with Dustin and Lucas.

If Mike was the leader, Lucas was co-leader. Lucas had conflicting emotions, kinda like Mike. Growing up as one of the only few black kids in Hawkins, he had a chip on his shoulder. He tried as hard as he could to fit in with the nerds because he was one, however there were still kids that looked at him as the black kid and nothing more. He lived close to Mike and quickly became friends with him. Lucas and Mike treated each other like brothers. They always argued and tried to outdo each other, but ended up loving each other at the end of the day.

They were playing a quick game of Dungeons and Dragons in the A.V. room and it was getting intense.

“What, are you crazy?! Cast a protection spell!” Dustin shouted.

Will stared at the board, conflicted on what to do.

“Will, come on, you got to pick something!” Mike shouted.

When he heard Mike shout, Will knew he had to choose now.

“ALRIGHT! I choose-”

Will was cut off when Mr. Clarke opened the door.

“Boys! You have to get to class!” Mr. Clarke ordered them.

“Can we keep our game in here for later?” Mike asked.

Mr. Clarke wanted to say no, but these boys had a certain charm about them. They reminded him of himself when he was young.

“Why the heck not!” Mr. Clarke gave the boys a smile.

The boys collectively cheered with excitement. They grabbed their backpacks and hurried to class.

As they entered the class and sat in their seats, they noticed something off about the room. The desks didn’t move, the walls were the same color. They finally realized.

“Hey, who is that?” Mike asked Will as he stared at a girl on the opposite side of the room.

“I… I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before,” Will said while looking confused.

Will leaned over and tapped Dustin’s shoulder. Dustin turned his head to Will.

“Whaaaat?” Dustin said.

“You see that girl over there?” Will pointed to her.

“Oh, yea! Mr. Clarke told me last week that we’d be getting a new student.”

“Wait, how come Mr. Clarke only told you?” Will asked, sounding jealous.

“Cause I’m his favorite, duh! The question is why WOULD he tell you idiots?” Dustin replied and gave Will a goofy smile.

Will shook his head. Dustin got on his nerves.

“PSSSTT! Are you guys talking about the new girl?” Lucas joined in.

“Wait? How do you know about the new student? Why did Mr. Clarke tell you?!” Dustin asked while sounding dumbfounded.

“What?! Mr. Clarke didn’t tell me anything, I just know because I’ve never seen her before, idiot!” Lucas whispered, sounding angry.

“Oh… sorry,” Dustin scratched his head.

The boys gave all of their attention to Mr. Clarke when he walked through the door.

“Alright, class! Settle down! Please, settle down!”

Mr. Clarke was standing in front of the class.

“We have a new student here! Please, come on up, Jane!”

Jane had average hair length, not too long or too short. She wore a uniform that made her stand out.

Everyone looked at Jane and wondered what she would do next.

“Why do you want me to come up, sir?” Jane asked.

She sounded so innocent and sweet. Mike fell for her as soon as she opened her mouth. He couldn’t believe how beautiful someone could sound.

“Well, you are the new kid. If you don’t mind, can you come up and tell us a few things about yourself?” Mr. Clarke said, hoping she would cave in.

“I guess…”

Jane got up and slowly walked to the front of the class.

She stared at the floor with shyness covering her face.

“My name is Jane, I lived in Chicago but my father wanted to go someplace more peaceful… so we came here.”

Mr. Clarke noticed how shy she was and quickly felt sorry for her.

“What about music? What kind of music do you like?” Mr. Clarke asked.

“I… I don’t know,” she nervously replied.

The boys knew something was off about her.

“I’m sorry if you feel pressured, Jane. You can sit down now.”

Mr. Clarke patted Jane on the shoulder before she walked back to her desk.

“Oh, Jane!” Mr. Clarke said.

“Sir?”

“I hope this isn’t a problem, but that is Alyssa’s desk, it’s just that she’s absent. However, there’s an empty seat beside Mike,” he pointed to the seat.

Mike awkwardly waved at Jane. This caused her to get a little flustered.

“Oh… okay,” Jane remained calm and sat down beside Mike.

As class went on, Mike couldn’t stop looking beside him. He felt ashamed every time he looked at her for a couple of seconds. Jane quickly caught on and tried to ignore him the best she could.

Mike noticed that Lucas was throwing quick glances at Jane as well. This made Mike very upset. The last thing he wanted to do was compete against him for a girl.

The bell went off and kids exited the class. Mike followed Jane out of class and tried to make conversation with her in the hallway.

“Hey!” Mike said as he surprised Jane and made her jump.

Jane looked at him for a quick second before looking straight ahead.

They kept walking. Mike was stumped.

“I-uh, I just wanted to welcome you to Hawkins Middle School, maybe I can give you a tour of the school sometime?”

Jane turned her head to face him again.

She shook her head no.

“I know, it must be overwhelming, being the new kid and all, but maybe we can be-”

Before he could finish his sentence, she walked into her next class. Mike couldn’t figure her out, and that made him want her more.

“Yep, she totally doesn't like you dude, I suggest you back off,” Lucas said as he walked up behind Mike.

“No way, she’s just shy is all,” Mike replied.

Mike stared at her from outside the class, almost as if he was a creepy stalker.

“Mike, come on! Girls give obvious signs when they don’t like a guy. Sorry I have to say this as your friend, but she don’t like you.”

“Whatever, Lucas! You don’t know squat about how she feels.”

Mike sounded a little too defensive and he quickly realized it.

Lucas decided to say nothing else. He didn’t want Mike to get anymore pissed at him.

 

**NOVEMBER 11 1983**

 

Today was a Monday, but it wasn’t just any other Monday. It was officially Jane’s second week of school since she came to Hawkins. The first week was uneventful. After Mike attempted to talk to her on the first day, he had been too shy to talk to her again. It was lunchtime and the boys were sitting at their usual table.

“My sister is so annoying!” Lucas said as he gave everyone a look of frustration.

“How? What did she do?” Dustin asked.

“She never stops complaining! And get this, I caught her in my room with her barbie dolls making out with my He-Man toy!”

Will, Dustin, and Mike couldn’t hold their laughter.

“Wow, your sister has a creative mind!” Dustin said while laughing.

“Screw you!” Lucas threw a fry at Dustin.

“I didn’t even know you had a He-Man toy,” Mike shook his head.

“What’s wrong with He-Man?” Lucas sounded too defensive at this point.

“He-Man is awesome, Lucas. Don’t listen to anyone that says otherwise,” Will tried to comfort Lucas.

Mike noticed her again. Jane was sitting at a table all by herself. Mike wanted to obey her wishes and leave her be, but seeing her like this made him sad.

“Mike…………….. Mike……….? MIKE!” Lucas snapped his fingers in Mike’s face to awaken him from the spell Jane casted on him.

“S-s-sorry,” Mike’s eyes were still focused on Jane.

Lucas noticed where Mike’s eyes were, and turned his head to see Jane. Lucas connected the dots.

“Mike… come on, is this about the new girl?” Lucas said with a tone of disappointment in his voice.

“What?! No!”

All the boys could tell he was lying.

“I don’t even know what you guys see in her. She acts like a serial killer!” Dustin’s joke went a little too far with Mike and Lucas.

“Woah-woah-woah, don’t call her that, man. I see what Mike see’s in her. She’s… innocent looking, polite, and most importantly… mysterious!” Lucas explained.

“So why do you get upset everytime I look at her or talk to her?” Mike asked Lucas as he finished his last fry.

“I’m just trying to save you from getting rejected hard. Ya know, cause I’m a caring friend.”

“Hmmmm, yeah, right. More like you want me to back off her so you can have her to yourself!”

Lucas sighed.

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t,” Lucas wasn’t admitting to anything.

“God, you guys get so annoying when you argue like this!” Will chimed in, sounding annoyed of both of them.

Mike stared at Lucas with a serious face for a couple of seconds.

“Alright, fine. If you like her, go talk to her, Lucas,” Mike said while crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

“What?!” Lucas sounded shocked.

“Go and sit at her table. Be friendly with her.”

“Soooooo… you’re okay with this?” Lucas wanted to make sure.

“YES! Now go!” Mike demanded.

Lucas stood up with his tray and walked over to Jane’s table. When Jane saw Lucas, she got a confused look on her face.

Lucas was so nervous, he couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Uh….. Uh,” Lucas scratched his head, trying to think of anything to say.

“Can I sit down?” Lucas finally said something.

Jane nodded her head while keeping a plain face.

Lucas quickly sat down in front of her, hoping the tension would end.

There was a long silence. They ate their food and remained silent for a couple of minutes.

Lucas knew his friends were watching him; he had to do something!

“So, you have any pets?” Lucas asked.

Jane looked at him and shook her head no.

“Do you… watch sports?”

Jane shook her head no again.

“Are you afraid of me or something? Why can’t you talk to me?” Lucas asked, sounding a little hurt.

Jane sighed out of frustration.

“My… my father told me not to talk to boys. I’m sorry.”

Lucas raised his eyebrows at her.

“Whu-wha-what?”

“It’s not you, I swear. My father, he is really strict about who I talk to. Can we please end this conversation? I don’t want him finding out that I willingly talked to a boy,” Jane explained, sounding sorry.

Lucas was too weirded out to say anything else. He nodded his head, stood up, and walked back to his table.

As he sat down, he let out a heavy sigh.

“Didn’t go well?” Will asked.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Lucas drank his Milk and acted like nothing happened.

“Jeez, it was that bad?!” Mike asked as he started to feel bad for Lucas.

“Mike, I think you might wanna drop this crush you have on her. She’s… weird.”

“You mean mysterious?”

“She said that her father won’t let her talk to boys!” Lucas shouted.

“So you’re just giving up? You know how many other girls have strict fathers?” Mike replied.

“Yeah, but… she just said he didn’t want her talking to boys in general. Imagine what he would do if he found out his innocent daughter was talking to me?!” Lucas pointed at himself.

Lucas had his ways of saying he’s black without actually saying it.

“That, and she just seems super weird, like, too weird!” Dustin said.

“Yeah, she seems really off,” Will added in.

Mike looked at Jane as she ate her sandwich. He saw a beautiful girl and nothing more.

“Maybe she needs actual friends to talk to. That’s probably why she acts so weird, she doesn’t know how to act,” Mike tried explaining to the boys.

“Let’s be friends with with the new kid who’s also a weirdo! Yeah, that’s definitely what we need, dude!” Dustin sarcastically said.

“Yeah, no offense, Mike, but I can’t mess with a girl like that!” Lucas said.

“I feel sorry for her, Mike, I really do, but maybe we should just leave her alone,” Will comforted Mike, but agreed with Dustin and Lucas.

Mike sighed as he felt defeated.

“Fine.”

 

**NOVEMBER 14 1983**

 

It was Thursday. Mike and the gang were on the playground for recess. They didn’t play around whenever they went out. They mostly talked about their next D&D campaign or something along those lines.

“That’s definitely gonna go over ten hours!” Mike shouted.

“Bro, do you want to have an awesome campaign, or a boring one?!” Lucas replied.

“That’s not the point. You know that my mom is gonna end our game like last time! I’m not having it go that long again!”

“So we’ll do it on the weekend!” Dustin shouted.

“I can’t!” Mike said, sounding super frustrated.

“Why not?!” Dustin asked.

“Because I don’t wanna waste my weekend in my basement!”

“So playing Dungeons and Dragons is wasting time now?!” Dustin asked with a hurt voice.

“No. It’s just a waste on the weekend. I got things I wanna do…”

“Like what, Mike?!” Dustin asked, sounding angrier with every sentence.

Mike struggled to think of something important he does on weekends.

“Uhhhhhhh……..Uhhhhhhhh……”

“See! You just don’t wanna play D&D anymore!” Dustin shouted.

“What?! How can you say that?!”

Will got tired of sitting on the sidelines and intervened.

“Will both of you just shut up! It’s a beautiful day out, so don’t ruin it!” Will said.

Dustin and Mike gave one last mean look at each other before listening to Will.

Mike observed the outside area. He saw her...again. Jane was sitting on a bench with her head in a book. He wanted to go over there. He wanted to sit beside her. He wanted her.

As he stared at Jane, he saw Troy walk up and snatch the book from her.

From Mike’s eyes, it looked like Troy was mocking her. Mike wanted to hurt Troy badly. It wasn’t bad enough he was his biggest bully, but now he was bullying Jane.

Mike went through the options in his mind. He knew how stupid it would be to go and face Troy head on, but he didn’t care. He needed to show Jane how much she meant to him.

He slowly walked away from his friends, they didn’t notice him gone.

Mike made his way to the bench.

“Please, give me my book back!” Jane begged.

“What kind of gay shit is this anyway?” Troy laughed at his own comment.

“I did nothing to you! Give me my book back, please!” Jane begged once more.

“People were right about you. You are a weird bitch,” Troy ripped out a few pages from the book and dropped it on the ground.

“NO!”

Jane cried as Troy started to walk away. She got on all fours on the grass to pick up the book and the pages ripped out of it.

“TROY!” Mike yelled behind Troy.

Troy turned around with a smile on his face. Everyone on the playground was watching them at this point.

“Well, well, well, speaking of gay shit, it’s Mike Wheeler!” Troy sarcastically clapped.

“You can pick on me all you want, Troy, but you leave her alone from now on!” Mike bravely said.

Jane sat on the bench again. She wiped the tears from her eyes and got confused about what was happening.

“Or what, Wheeler? You gonna punch me?”

Troy walked closer to Mike and got in his face.

“Nah, you’re not gonna punch me. You’re a bitch.”

“He’s not gonna punch you because we’re all gonna punch you!” Lucas shouted from the crowd.

Dustin, Lucas, and Will emerged from the crowd and walked forward to defend Mike.

“What is this, the loser squad?!” Troy said with nervous laughter.

“You can think we’re losers all you want, it’s still four on one. I know you’re not good at math, but you’re pretty fucking outnumbered here!” Dustin said.

Troy made Mike flinch by acting like he was gonna punch him.

“You losers don’t deserve my time. I’m outta here,” Troy chuckled and smirked, then walked away.

Mike let out a sigh of relief. He turned to his friends.

“Thanks for helping me out, you guys are the best.”

“I know we’re not the most threatening guys in the world, but a dumb bully knows when he’s outnumbered,” Will said while smiling.

“I have to ask though, why did you get involved with her?” Lucas said, which made Mike roll his eyes.

“She needed help, that’s it,” Mike responded.

Obviously there was more to it, but Mike had no intention of telling them that.

“You almost got your ass beat over her!” Lucas shouted.

Mike had no time for arguing.

“Can you guys go and let me talk to her. Maybe she’ll be more open with me now.”

Dustin and Lucas rolled their eyes while Will nodded.

They walked away to give Mike and Jane private time.

Mike sat on the bench, which surprised Jane.

“Hey,” Mike opened the conversation.

Jane had mixed feelings. On one hand, he was a boy, but on the other hand, he kinda saved her in a way. Maybe she owed him a conversation.

She decided not to talk.

“You met my friend Lucas at lunch a couple of days ago. Remember him?” Mike pointed to Lucas as Jane watched.

She slowly nodded yes.

“He told me some things. Don’t worry, nothing bad about you. He told me you have a strict father who doesn’t want you talking to boys. Is that true?” Mike smoothly asked.

Jane nodded yes again as she took a big gulp.

“OK, you don’t have to talk to me. If you want, I can get up and walk away from you. You will never have to talk to me again………….. Or, we can play a quick game of rock-paper-scissors. You know how to play it, right?”

She nodded yes.

“OK, cool. So if I win in rock-paper-scissors, we have a conversation together. If I lose, I’ll leave you alone forever.”  
She looked unsure on what to do.

“You already know I’m not one of the bad boys, you can trust me. Please, just play this game with me. It’s the least you can do for a boy who saved you from Troy!”

Mike looked at her with puppy dog eyes. Jane could not refuse.

“OK…..”

Mike got a look of excitement. Hearing her talk made him blush.

“OK, ready? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

Mike had paper, Jane had rock.

“YES! I WIN!” Mike shouted.

He smacked his open hand on top of Jane’s closed hand. Mike and Jane were suddenly staring at their connected hands. It was like they were in a trance.

Mike couldn’t believe he was actually making some sort of contact with her.

Jane secretly loved feeling his hand on hers. She let out a quick smirk before she realized what happened.

Jane panicked and stood up. This caused Mike to worry that he did something wrong.

“What did I do?!” Mike said.

He was sad that their special moment ended.

“I… I have to go…”

“You have to have a conversation with me, remember?!”

“I’ll talk to you at lunch…”

She quickly ran away from Mike, too scared to show her true feelings.

As Mike sat on the bench, he felt cheated.

“She better show up at lunch.”

The boys were at their table. Mike felt nervous about her sitting with them. He wondered if the boys could keep their cool around her and not say the wrong thing. He just wanted to talk to her in private, but he respected her decision.

Mike hadn’t told the boys she would be sitting with them because he thought they would act more natural if they didn’t know.

As Lucas and Dustin spewed on about the usual nonsense they talked about, Mike wasn’t listening. He felt scared. He just wanted her to sit down with them already, he was so nervous.

Jane finally appeared with her tray and sat down in front of Mike. She was sitting beside Lucas, and he got startled from her presence.

Soon, all the boys were awkwardly staring at her.

“Hi,” Jane said.

The boys were still in shock.

“Guys, I’d like you to meet Jane. Jane, I’m Mike. This is Lucas, I know you’ve met him before. This is Dustin, and this is Will,” Mike said.

The boys collectively waved at Jane.

“Do I… do I have to talk to all of you?” Jane asked with nerves in her stomach.

Mike sighed.

“Jane, we’re not gonna hurt you like that other boy, you can trust us. We’re completely harmless,” Mike explained.

Jane looked suspicious, but she decided to give it a shot.

“OK, let’s talk.”

“So it’s true that you came here from Chicago?” Mike asked.

“Yes…”

“What did you do there?”

“I went to school… and came home.”

Mike was hoping for something more exciting.

“I think Jane’s a beautiful name,” Lucas said in a flirtatious manner.

“Thanks,” Jane awkwardly replied.

Mike saw what Lucas was doing. Mike had to compete for her now.

“I… I think your hair is really beautiful,” Mike nervously said.

For a split second, Jane slightly blushed.

Dustin cringed and rolled his eyes out of frustration.

“Thanks,” Jane awkwardly replied.

“Hey, I’ve been working out lately, can you tell me if my arm feels tight?” Lucas asked as he held his arm up near her.

Jane was getting uncomfortable, but they were kind to her, so she decided it wasn’t so bad.

“Okay.”

Jane grabbed his arm and felt his muscles. He didn’t have much muscle considering he was a 7th grader, but it was still impressive for his age.

Mike was so jealous. He couldn’t stand to see her feeling another boy’s muscles.

“Tight, right?” Lucas asked Jane.

“I guess?” Jane replied.

She took her hand off of him and went back to eating her food.

Lucas gave Mike a smirk. This set Mike off.

Mike and Lucas argued through facial expressions. If Jane saw what they were doing, she would probably leave.

Jane started to get really nervous. She picked up her milk carton to drink it, but it slipped out of her hands and spilled onto the floor. A little of it got on her, but she quickly wiped it off.

“I’ll clean it!” Mike said.

“No, I got it,” Lucas replied, then stood up.

Mike let him clean the mess up off the floor. It wasn’t something he badly wanted to do anyway.

After cleaning the mess, Lucas sat down and let out a little sigh.

“Thanks,” Jane gave a smile at Lucas.

Mike immediately regretted not cleaning the mess up. He wanted to be the one to make her smile.

“I’m gonna get some more milk,” Jane said, ready to stand up.

“No, you can have mine. I haven’t drank mine yet and I’m not thirsty. Here.”

Mike handed his milk carton to Jane. She gave him that smile that he so desperately wanted.

“Thanks, Mike.”

Mike freaked out on the inside. He couldn’t believe she actually said his name!

Lucas looked at Mike like he was gonna punch him. Mike gave him a smirk and winked.

“Jane, I was wondering if Maybe you wanted to come over to my house sometime and watch TV?” Lucas asked, hoping she would say yes.

Jane looked nervous and didn’t know how to respond.

“My father, he won’t let me go over to a boy’s house.”

Lucas forgot.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Lucas scratched his head while feeling dumb.

Lunch went on. The boys tried to make normal conversation, but with Jane in the picture, it seemed almost impossible.

When lunch ended, they started walking back to class.

Lucas pulled Mike aside in the hallway so they could have a more private conversation.

“What the hell, man?!” Lucas shouted.

“What?” Mike confusingly replied.

“Why are you actually competing against me for her?!”

“I thought you didn’t want her!” Mike shouted.

“Well, I changed my mind!”

“That’s bullshit, Lucas! You don’t care about her, you just want to win against me at another thing! She’s nothing but a trophy to you!” Mike shouted, feeling hurt by Lucas.

“That’s a fucking lie! I like her just as much as you do!” Lucas shouted back.

“Yeah, whatever,” Mike said, then walked away from Lucas.

Mike and Lucas never argued over a girl before. Both of the boys were very sensitive about her, so arguing made them even more upset towards each other. Mike did not want to lose a friend, but Lucas was acting like a jerk to him.

School was over. The boys stayed for a while after because they were in the A.V. club.

After A.V. club was over, they got on their bikes and pedalled home.

As Mike rode his bike, he saw Jane walking on the side of the road.

He stopped near her, which caught her attention.

“Jane?”

“Hi, Mike…”

Mike got off his bike and went up to her.

“You don’t have a ride?”

“Uh, no. I walk home,” Jane replied.

“Wow, that’s weird.”

“How?” Jane asked.

“It’s just that kids usually get a ride from their parents, or they take the bus, but you walk home?”

“I like it. The silence and nature is beautiful. It helps me think,” Jane explained with a smile on her face.

She started opening up to him.

“So, you live around here?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, the road on the right.”

“Wow! I live a couple blocks from you, that’s so cool!” Mike gave a wide smile to Jane.

Jane briefly smiled back.

“I was wondering if you like, wanna come over to my house tomorrow? Maybe we can have a sleepover?!” Mike asked, but he knew the answer already.

“That sounds… good… but I can’t. My father, he’s really-”

“Yeah, I know, he’s strict. Look, you don’t have to tell him you’re going to a boy’s house. Just tell him you’re going to a girl friend’s house,” Mike suggested.

“You want me to lie to my dad?!” Jane said, sounding shocked.

“When you say it like that, it makes it sound bad,” Mike shrugged and nervously smiled.

“I’m sorry, Mike, I just … can’t risk it…”

Mike sighed. He wasn’t gonna let her get away from him.

“Jane, I wanna get to know you better, I really really really like you.” Mike accidentally blurted out.

Mike looked so embarrassed for saying it. Jane looked just as embarrassed.

“Jane, I’ve been wondering, do you… do you like me?” Mike asked while closing his eyes.

He opened them shortly after.

“I think I do,” Jane said.

Her voice was shaking.

Mike felt so happy to hear her say that.

Both of them had no idea what to say next. They stared at the ground, trying to think of anything that could advance the conversation.

“Can I give you a ride home?” Mike pointed to his bike.

“NO!” Jane shouted, which made Mike jump.

“Why?!”

“I’m sorry for the outburst. It’s just that… my father cannot see you!” Jane said as she shook her head.

“Oh…”

Mike knew something was off. He got back on his bike.

“Jane, please, think about what I said… about the sleepover.”

She nodded her head.

As Mike pedalled his way home, he had so many thoughts going through his head.

He was so happy that she actually liked him. It made him feel things inside that he never felt before.

He was still skeptical about her father. Why was he so strict? Something didn’t seem right.

Mike planned on not telling Lucas about the conversation that just took place. He didn’t want to fight with Lucas again, he just wanted things to go back to normal between the two.

For the rest of the day, Mike hoped that Jane would come over tomorrow. She was the only thing on his mind.


	2. The Sleepover

**NOVEMBER 15 1983**

 

The sun started to go down as Mike stared at the wall while lying in bed. He lost faith that Jane would show up. His heart saddened.

He started to think he was stupid for telling her he liked her. To him, that probably scared her off.

Meanwhile, Jane was standing outside the front door to Mike’s house. She still had her uniform on and looked nervous. She took a big gulp and rang the doorbell.

The door opened as Jane saw Mike’s mother, Karen.

Mike told his parents ahead of time that a girl might show up to their house. He begged them to please not embarrass him. His father, Ted, couldn't've of cared less, while his mother seemed too giddy about the whole thing.

“Hello?” Jane said.

“You must be Jane! Please, come on in!” Karen welcomed her in as she stepped to the side.

Jane walked inside the house as the door shut behind her. Karen was so happy her son was talking to girls. She stared at Jane with a weird smile; this creeped Jane out a bit.

“You look……… nicely dressed!” Karen said as she stared at her uniform, a little confused as to why she was wearing it.

“Thanks…”

“So, you and Mike are friends.... Or…?” Karen was afraid to finish her sentence.

Jane wanted to walk away because she was too uncomfortable, but she kept her cool.

“Friends. Where is Mike?”

“Upstairs. I was just up there, his door should be open!” Karen said, smiling widely.

Jane nodded her head and ran upstairs. She went up to Mike’s room and hid by his door. She poked her head out at his room and saw him in bed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Mike?” Jane walked inside his room.

Mike quickly jumped out of bed, completely startled by her presence.

“Jane! Uhhhhh, I mean……. Hey?!” Mike said as he put his hands on his hips and smiled nervously.

“I know, it’s weird for me to be here…”

“What? No, you’re cool. I just didn’t expect you to actually show up.”

Mike sat on the edge of his bed.

“I’m not cool, you’re just saying that.”

She blushed at his comment.

They awkwardly stared at each other for a moment.

“So-uh, how did you get your dad to let you come here?” Mike asked.

“I had to convince him for over an hour that you were a girl and that we were working on a project!”

“So... you did lie!” Mike said in a light-hearted tone and smiled.

Jane couldn't help but smile when she saw Mike’s smile.

“My dad would kill me if he found out about you!”

Mike got that warm feeling inside his stomach again. She talked about him like they were a thing, but he was still in shock that this was actually happening.

“Do you… do you like, wanna… sit down with me?” Mike nervously asked.

“Yes, I’d like that…”

Jane sat next to him on the bed.

“Troy didn’t bother you today, right?” Mike wondered.

“Uh, no, he didn’t,” Jane replied.

“I’m really sorry about that guy, he’s a prick!” Mike said with an aggressive voice.

“A prick?” Jane said, sounding confused.

“Uhhh, you know, prick, an annoying person…”

“Oh.”

The room got silent.

“This one time in fifth grade, Troy gave me two black eyes,” Mike confessed, sounding a little embarrassed.

“That’s terrible! He got punished though, right?” Jane put her hand on her chest to express concern.

“I wish, but no. He got suspended for ten days but nothing major. It sucked, I got beat up and he basically got off with a warning. He’s treated me like shit ever since.”

Jane raised her eyebrows at him.

“Shit?”

“Come on, you don’t know what shit means?” Mike asked, amazed at how she knew very little.

“I mean, it’s probably not a good thing since he treated you like it…”

“It means poop.”

Jane got a disgusted look on her face.

“Ew!”

Mike and Jane shared a laugh.

“Why is your father so strict? Like, I get being protective, my mom is protective, but your dad seems a little too protective.”

Jane had a more serious facial expression now.

“He used to be happy… but something happened…………………. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Jane looked at her feet with sadness in her eyes.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up…”

Mike scratched the back of his head.

“No, it’s not your fault. He is … a little too strict. I wouldn’t dare say that to his face though.”

“You’re scared of him?” Mike asked, legitimately worried that her dad might hurt her.

Jane sighed.

“No, I love him, he’s my dad! It’s just… can we talk about something else?” Jane replied, ready to leave this conversation in the past.

“Alright. How are you liking it here? Are the people nice, well, besides Troy, are the people nice?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, I don’t like talking to many people though, because my father told me not to. Lucas has been very nice to me, and so have you. Your other friends, though I haven’t talked to them much, they seem nice as well. You are all nice…”

Mike rolled his eyes when she brought up Lucas. Did he actually stand a chance with her?

“You know, Jane, I was thinking back to yesterday when I said I liked you.”

Jane felt the nerves coming back to her. 

“OK…”

“Well, I was just thinking about it. I still feel that way about you. Do you… still feel that way about me?” Mike asked, gulping hard.

Jane felt uncomfortable, and it wasn’t because she didn’t like him, because she did. She felt uncomfortable because she thought he was too good for her. She got frightened at the thought of scaring him away.

“Mike, I like you… a lot. I’ve never had this feeling before…”

“Me neither.”

Mike and Jane turned their heads to each other and made eye contact. They felt the energy around them. They knew what they wanted to do next.

Mike closed his eyes and puckered his lips.

Jane decided to go with it and did the same.

They moved their heads closer to each other.

They were getting closer…

They’re lips were so close to connecting.

“YO, MIKE!” Dustin shouted.

Mike and Jane quickly panicked and tried to act normal as they heard the footsteps getting louder.

They stood up, not knowing what to do.

“Mike, after this dinner, this campaigns gonna be awesssss-”

Dustin stopped talking when the group walked in on Mike and Jane standing awkwardly towards them.

“Jane?” Lucas said in a surprised tone.

“Hi, Lucas,” Jane waved at Lucas and they both smiled at each other.

This annoyed Mike and immediately got him in a bad mood.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?!” Mike shouted, which startled Jane.

“What do you mean? You said we could have the campaign this weekend!” Dustin shouted back.

“No, I didn’t! I said we could have it next weekend!”

Mike told Dustin earlier on in the day that they will have the D&D campaign next weekend.

“What? That can’t be right.”

“It is!” Mike shouted.

Jane wasn’t used to seeing Mike’s fiery side, but she kinda liked it.

“Really?” Dustin rubbed his chin.

“YES!” Mike yelled.

“Well… shit.”

Dustin felt like an idiot.

“I knew I shouldn’t’ve listened to you, Dustin!” Will shouted out of frustration and sighed.

“Yeah, you’re an idiot, dude,” Lucas said, chuckling at Dustin’s mistake.

“Alright, Mike, I’m sorry. I guess I got next week and this week mixed up. I’m human, okay!”

“Whatever.”

Mike felt like complete and utter garbage. He was about to kiss Jane, but then his competition showed up.

“Since we’re already here, we can stay… right?” Lucas asked.

“Absolutely not!” Mike immediately responded.

“Now-now-now, let’s let Jane decide. Jane, do you mind if we stay here?” Lucas asked her.

Although Jane was about to kiss Mike, she loved having the company of all the boys there. They were nice to her, and she desperately needed friends.

“I… don’t mind, you guys are cool. But if Mike doesn’t want you guys to stay, then-”

“Alright, you can stay!” Mike blurted out.

Mike wanted Jane to feel happy. He didn’t want to restrict her from stuff like her father did.

“YES!” Dustin celebrated with Will and Lucas.

“MIIIIIIKEEEEE, DINNER’S READY!!!” Karen screamed from downstairs.

“Dude, your mom makes the best lasagna!” Lucas grinned at Mike.

Lucas knew Mike was annoyed.

Dustin, Lucas, and Will quickly ran downstairs while Mike and Jane remained still.

“Is something wrong, Mike?” Jane asked, knowing that something was off about his current attitude.

“Uh, no. Let’s go eat…”

Mike and Jane walked downstairs. They took their seats at the table along with his parents and the rest of the boys.

As they sat down and ate lasagna, Lucas and Mike made funny faces at one another. Jane caught on to Mike this time.

“Mike, what are you doing?” Jane whispered.

Mike quickly went back to normal and turned his head to face her.

“Nothing… sorry.”

Karen adored Mike and Jane together. She couldn’t help but stare at them, which made things even more awkward for Mike and Jane. Ted was the complete opposite. All he cared about was his food.

“You’re friends with all these boys, Jane?” Karen asked.

“I guess…?” Jane awkwardly replied.

“This is some great lasagna, Mrs. Wheeler!” Lucas smiled at Karen.

Hearing the boys compliment her food always put a smile on Karen’s face.

“Hey, Mrs. Wheeler, where’s Nancy?!” Dustin asked.

“I think she went out with Steve earlier.”

“Figures. I don’t know what she sees in him!” 

Dustin was super jealous of Steve. Dustin had a big crush on Mike’s sister, Nancy. 

“Holly! Baby, you’re spilling food on the floor!” Karen shouted.

Karen stood up and cleaned the mess that Holly made.

“I like your sister,” Jane whispered to Mike and giggled.

Mike couldn’t help but laugh. He loved seeing her smile.

“Ted, can you do the dishes?” Karen asked.

Ted paid no attention to her.

“TED!”

“Huh? What?” 

Ted finally realized Karen was talking to him.

“I said can you do the dishes?”

“Look, I’ve had a long day, Karen. It’s not my fault all the kids in this town show up to our house!” Ted sighed.

Karen wanted to scream at him, but she knew it would only scare Jane.

“Alright, fine, I’ll do it, it’s not like I do everything else around this house!” Karen said, sounding passive aggressive.

Jane looked at Mike with concern.

“Are they alright?” Jane asked Mike.

“Yeah, they always do that.”

“That’s normal?”

“No, but you get used to it after a while,” Mike said as he smiled at her.

Jane reluctantly smiled back. She didn’t want to argue with Mike like his parents argued.

Everyone got done eating. Karen went around the table to pick up each plate and piled them on top of each other.

“Mrs. Wheeler, is it alright if we watch a scary movie in the living room and sleep there for the night?” Lucas asked.

Lucas gave Karen puppy dog eyes. 

Karen sighed and shook her head no.

“Oh, come on! Please, just one night!” Dustin chimed in.

“Yeah!” Will added.

Karen sighed again.

“Jane, what do you think? Do you want to watch a scary movie?” Karen asked, hoping she’d say no.

Jane looked at Mike. He simply smiled at her.

Jane looked at Lucas. He gave her a thumbs up.

Jane looked back at Karen.

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

Jane wanted to fit in with the boys, but in actuality, she was scared.

Time past as the boys kept arguing on what movie to watch. They finally stumbled upon something they all liked.

“Friday the 13th Part III!” Mike shouted.

“What’s that?!” Jane asked.

“It’s a movie about a guy in a hockey mask who kills people with a machete.

Jane looked frightened.

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s not really scary. It’s just… kinda bloody”

“Oh, OK,” Jane replied with a shaky voice.

“Yeah, it’s too bad the acting in these movies are horrible!” Dustin made Will chuckle.

“Hey, it’s not that bad. And the girls in it are…”

Lucas stopped talking when he remembered Jane was there.

“So you’ve seen this one already, Lucas?” Will asked.

“Uh, yeah, who hasn’t?”

“I haven’t!” Will replied.

“I’ve seen a little bit,” Mike said.

“Eh, it doesn’t matter. Let’s stop this chatter and get the movie ready. I’ll go make some popcorn!” Dustin ran out of the room.

The kids got situated with food and drinks.

Through the first half of the movie, the kids ate popcorn and drank soda, which made Jane feel more comfortable about watching a horror movie.

As the movie went on, the kids got interested in the movie.

Will and Dustin were watching the movie on the floor with covers on them.

Jane was sitting between Mike and Lucas on the couch.

There would be jumpscares that made Jane lean towards Mike, and others that made her lean towards Lucas.

The movie made her uncomfortable at times because of the nudity and sex scenes. They were at the part where the girl got in the shower.

This is definitely not a movie Karen wanted them to watch.

The boys had their eyes glued to the scene. Jane turned her head to Mike and Lucas; she was completely confused on why they were so interested.

The scene went on. She got killed after coming out of the shower and getting dressed. Shortly after that, Jane ran into the kitchen.

Mike and Lucas rolled their eyes at each other.

They stood up at the same time.

“I’ll go check on her,” Mike said.

“No, I’ll go check on her!” Lucas replied.

Dustin and Will were too invested in the movie to care about their conversation.

“My house, my movie, my say.”

Lucas couldn’t argue with that.

Lucas sat down and sighed in defeat.

Mike walked in on Jane crying at the kitchen table. He sat down beside her and leaned his head down to be on her level.

“Jane? What’s wrong?”

Jane kept crying.

“The movie, it was too scary, right?” Mike assumed.

Jane couldn’t speak, she could only cry some more.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn't’ve agreed for us to watch a scary movie. It’s totally my fault.

The last thing that Jane wanted to do is make Mike feel responsible for her crying.

“NO, it’s not… it’s not you. It’s just… watching those people get killed….. It brings back bad memories!” Jane said while sobbing.

“Hey… Jane, please stop crying. It hurts me to see you like this, I wish I could fix it,” Mike said in a soft tone.

Jane slowed down her crying. She started to feel comfortable around Mike.   
“Okay. I’ll try to stop… for you.”

The two shared a moment and stared at one another. Seeing his face made her so happy. 

He made the crying go away. She couldn’t believe it.

“You said that it brought back bad memories? Like… if you don’t mind me asking, what were the memories?” 

Jane looked down at her feet. She didn’t know if she could tell him without sobbing again.

“My mother…”

“Your mother? What about her?” Mike wondered.

“She………….. She…………. She killed herself.”

Mike could not process what she said. He never talked to someone about death before.

“I’m……….. I’m so sorry, I had no idea.”

“It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I never should’ve come here, I’m just a problem for everyone! I’ll just go.”

Jane stood up and was ready to leave.

Mike quickly stood up and blocked her from walking out of the house.

“NO-no-no-no. I like you, please stay!” Mike sounded desperate.

“No you don’t. You just feel sorry for me like everyone else,” Jane replied, sounding depressed.

“I don’t, I like being around you!”

“You’re lying!”

Mike shook his head. He didn’t know what he had to say to make her believe him.

“OK, maybe I don’t know what it feels like to lose someone like my mom, but I know the feeling you have.”

“How? What happened?” Jane asked.

Mike contemplated not telling her, but they were too deep into the conversation.

He sighed and looked down at the table.

“I got a dog when I was four years old. Well, he was around before I was born, but I didn’t start loving him until later on. His name was Roscoe.”

Mike smiled just thinking about his dog.

“Anyway, Roscoe and I did everything together. He started out as a puppy, but he just kept growing and growing. He’d watch TV with me, he’d go to sleep with me, and he’d even lick my face out of nowhere.”

Mike and Jane both chuckled.

“Those were some of the happiest moments of life, and it was with a dog. But………”

Mike sighed. He looked like he was gonna cry.

“A couple of years ago, he got lung cancer. We tried to get all the help we could get, but nothing worked. One week he’d be fine, and the next... he’d be throwing up all around the house.”

Jane looked saddened by Mike’s story. She realized they were more alike than she thought.

“So what happened?” Jane asked, sounding super worried.

“Almost six months went by. He was a fighter. He wouldn’t give up on living, no matter how sick he got. My parents wanted to take him to the vet and put him down, but I stopped them. I thought he could get better. He lossed a ton of weight, he could hardly eat, but he still kept fighting. He got so skinny, it looked really bad. Then……… One random day, he just………. died.”

“Mike…”

“I hated myself for months. I blamed myself for his death. I should’ve listened to my parents and had him put down. Instead, I made him suffer for half a year. I’m so fucking stupid! I… sorry for cursing,” Mike said.

As he looked down in shame, Jane grabbed his hand that was lying on the table. Mike looked up at her with shock. It was the rock-paper-scissors game all over again, except Jane had her hand on top of Mike’s hand this time.

“I have feelings for you, Mike,” Jane admitted.

Mike smiled.

“I have feelings for you too.”

They stared at each other. It felt like they were in a trance again.

While still having their hands connected, they slowly leaned their heads towards each other.

They puckered their lips and closed their eyes.

They got closer and closer.

Jane leaned back and sighed.

Mike opened his eyes to disappointment.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked.

“I can’t do this, I’m sorry,” Jane said.

“Why not?” Mike looked and sounded sad.

“My dad, if he found out I kissed a boy, I don’t know what he’d do,” Jane shook her head and looked scared.

Mike was pissed on the inside.

“You can’t let your dad control you forever. Sometimes you gotta go with your gut,” Mike explained.

“I’d love to… but I just can’t. I’m sor-”

Out of nowhere, Mike leaned in and kissed her. She quickly kissed back. They had their lips connected for four seconds.

When their lips separated, Jane felt different. She had a feeling inside of her that she never had before.

Mike felt amazing. It was everything he thought it would be and better.

“That was my first kiss,” Jane said.

She nervously giggled.

“Mine too,” Mike smiled and laughed.

They both got into a giddy mood.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Mike asked.

Jane instantly looked stunned.

“Uh………”

Mike chuckled.

“Pleeaaaaasseeee,” Mike jokingly said.

Jane couldn’t contain her laughter.

His charm won her over.

“Yes!” Jane nodded her head and she smiled at him.

They chuckled some more before Dustin came into the kitchen.

“Yo, you’re missing the movie, come on!” Dustin shouted.

Dustin ran out of the room.

Mike looked back at Jane.

“Will you be okay when we go back in there?” Mike asked.

“Yeah……. My life could be worse,” Jane said.

They went back into the living room and finished the movie.

The credits started rolling.

“Well, Will, thoughts on the movie?” Dustin asked.

“It sucked, you were right,” Will yawned.

“The kills were pretty good. What do you think, Mike?” Lucas asked. 

Mike only saw half of the movie. He was too busy glancing at Jane.

“Uhhh, I mean, it’s just a mindless slasher movie. I’m not asking for the best acting ever, I just want to be entertained,” Mike answered.

“Exactly!” Lucas shouted.

“Jane, did you like the movie?” Will asked.

Jane waited to respond.

“It was decent. It got a little disturbing at some parts, which caused me to leave the room. I’m sorry for that by the way.”

“Hey, we understand, we like you, don’t worry,” Lucas said as he briefly grabbed her shoulder.

She smiled at him.

“Thanks, Lucas.”

When Lucas made contact with her, it got under Mike’s skin. He knew what Lucas was doing, and he wanted him to stop.

Everyone felt tired when Mike turned the TV off. They all yawned and stretched.

“Wow, it is getting late!” Will dove his head into the pillow while lying on the floor.

Dustin was also already set up on the floor.

Lucas grabbed some covers and got set up on the floor.

Jane awkwardly stared at Mike.

“Do I have to sleep on the floor?” Jane asked, feeling confused.

“No. You can go upstairs and sleep in my bed, just for the night, okay?”

Jane grinned and nodded.

“Thanks, Mike!”

Jane latched on to Mike for a quick hug. This made Lucas roll his eyes.

Jane ran upstairs.

Mike lied down on the couch and slept.

 

**NOVEMBER 16 1983**

 

Mike always woke up early. He got it from his mom. When he woke up in the morning, he decided to check on Jane upstairs. She was in his bed after all.

Mike entered his room.

He stared at Jane as she slept in his bed. Just looking at her at that moment, he loved- oh no, he was already thinking about love.

Mike was a smart kid for his age. He knew that love can be just as bad as it is good. People can get hurt, hearts can be crushed, and people’s identities change from love.

Mike took some more footsteps. This woke up Jane.

Uuuuhhhh, Mike?” Jane said, sounding tired.

“Hey!” Mike said with excitement in his voice.

“Your bed is nice,” Jane grinned with her eyes closed.

“Yeah, I know. Hey, do you mind if I lay down with you?” Mike asked.

Jane was too tired to even think.

“Sure,” Jane replied.

Mike got under the covers with Jane. He didn’t want to touch her. He wanted to keep it normal.

When Jane got more awake, she realized that he was beside her… in bed.

She panicked. With adrenaline running through her veins, she got out of bed and stared at Mike.

“What’s the matter?” Mike asked, still lying in bed.

“I don’t know if we should be going that far yet…”

Mike was disappointed, but he understood her.

“Yeah, I wasn’t gonna do anything, I swear. I’m with you, we gotta take this as slow as possible.”

“Right…”

Ted was still sleeping. Karen made breakfast for the kids in the kitchen. They all sat around the table.

“Sooooo, Jane, did you have fun?” Karen asked in a goofy way, which embarrassed Mike.

Jane nodded yes.

“All these boys are my friends. I’m glad to have them,” Jane smiled at the boys.

“I noticed you slept in Mike’s room?” Karen said.

Jane took a quick look at Mike and panicked, then looked back at Karen.

“Yes, Mike was so nice to me, he let me sleep in his bed.”

Karen got that goofy smile on her face.

“It was a sleepover. You were all supposed to sleep together. So why did Michael let you sleep in his room, out of all the people?” Karen smiled and raised her eyebrows up and down.

Mike facepalmed.

“Because we’re really good friends, Mom. Now please drop this!” Mike said.

“Yes, Mrs. Wheeler, you’re being weird!” Lucas added.

“Yeah, and stop doing that thing with your eyebrows. It’s creepy!” Dustin said.

“Oh-alright. You all are just good friends, but according to Michael, him and Jane are REALLY good friends,” Karen chuckled at her own sentence.

“MOM!”

Jane appreciated Karen’s attempt at humor. She was a fun person to be around. She was also the complete opposite of her dad.

“I’m only kidding! I’m going to take a shower,” Karen walked out of the room.

“I thought she’d never leave!” Mike sighed.

“Seriously,” Lucas said.

“This is some good cereal you guys,” Will tried to change the topic, but they all rolled their eyes at him.

The afternoon came around. It was time to take Jane home.

Jane told Mike beforehand that he had to drop her off a block away from her house. This way, her dad wouldn’t see Mike.

She got on the bike with Mike and grabbed his hips to hold on. It was weird, but there was no other way.

Before they took off, Mike wanted to know a little more about her.

“I know this might sound stupid to ask, but what’s your full name?” Mike wondered.

“My full name?”

“Yeah, you know, your first and last name. Mine’s Mike Wheeler, so what’s yours?”

Jane felt stupid for not realizing what he was talking about.

“Oh, right, of course. It’s Brenner……… Jane Brenner.”

“Well, Jane Brenner, let’s take you home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things just got real interesting...


	3. The Black Eye

**NOVEMBER 16 1983**

 

Mike was bringing Jane home on his bike. They had quite a night together. The two shared a kiss and officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Jane noticed something wrong. She glanced at Mike’s watch and felt frightened.

“OH NO!” Jane panicked.

“What?! What’s wrong?” Mike stopped his bike immediately.

“My dad! he told me to be home by twelve!”

“OK.”

Mike looked at his watch.

“It’s 11:57… SHIT!” Mike just realized how close it was to being twelve.

“I can make it in time if I ride on your bike.”

“I thought you didn’t want me around your house, ya know, because of your dad?”

“I don’t want you around there, but I have no choice. I have to take a chance with this…”

“You mean I have to take a chance?” Mike smirked.

“NO, MIKE, TRUST ME, HE WILL BE SO MAD IF I’M LATE! PLEASE, HURRY UP AND GET ME THERE, I’LL TELL YOU WHEN TO STOP!” Jane shouted.

This got Mike’s attention.

“Okay-okay, calm down, I’m going!”

Mike pedalled as fast as he could!

“Hold on!” Mike said.

She grabbed his hips tightly and leaned her head on his shoulder. It felt good for her, maybe even too good.

“Left here!” Jane said.

Mike turned left.

“Keep going. Keep going. This house, the green one!” Jane said.

Mike stopped his bike in front of her house.

Jane quickly got off the bike and began to run to the door.

“Jane!” Mike shouted.

Jane turned around to hear what Mike had to say.

“See you at school Monday?”

Jane nodded her head yes.

“Bye, Mike,” Jane gave him a slight smile.

“Bye,” Mike blushed.

They stared at each other for a little too long, which made Jane motion him to go away.

Mike snapped out of it and finally rode his bike home.

12:00, right on the dot.

Jane politely rang the doorbell.

Her father opened it.

“Jane!”

“Daddy?”

“You were almost late!”

Her father’s name was Martin Brenner. Some people called him Martin, most called him Brenner. He had grey hair, no facial hair, and he was 6”4. Whenever he talked, it sounded important, even when it really wasn’t. He could also be very scary whenever he wanted to be.

“I know, Daddy. I lost track of time. We worked so hard on that project last night!” Jane lied.

“Uh-huh? Sure you did. Whatever, come inside!” Brenner replied.

Jane came into the house and the door slammed shut behind her.

“AHH!” Jane screamed, startled by the slammed door.

Brenner gave Jane a mean look.

“Sit down on the couch,” Brenner said politely.

Jane got too scared to even think. She just listened to him and sat on the couch.

He sat beside her shortly after.

“So, what project were you two working on again??” Brenner asked.

“Uhhh, we were working on a science project…”

“And your friend’s a girl, correct?”

“.......Yes….”

“So……….. WHO WAS THAT BOY?!” Brenner screamed, his face turning redder by the second.

“Boy? What boy?”

“DON’T PLAY DUMB WITH ME! THE BOY WHO BROUGHT YOU HERE!”

Jane knew that stare was too long. He probably looked out of a window and saw them or something.

Jane took a deep breath.

“Daddy, I know I lied to you, and you have every right to punish me for doing that, but that boy out there is nice! He’s not like other boys. He makes me happy!” Jane tried to convince him.

“HOW DARE YOU TALK LIKE THAT?!”

“Daddy, please don’t yell at me,” Jane said in a soft tone.

Brenner sighed heavily and tried to calm down.

“Look, Jane, boys are boys, no matter how nice they seem. They will use you!”

Jane looked down at her legs, afraid to look her father in the eyes.

“He’s not like that!” Jane said, wanting to cry.

“Are you seriously gonna fight with me about this?!” Brenner shouted.

Jane turned her head and looked up at him.  
“He makes me happy, and that’s something I haven’t felt since Mom died!” Tears started dripping from Jane’s eyes.

“YOU NEED TO STOP TALKING LIKE THAT! YOU WILL NOT SEE THIS BOY ANYMORE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!”

Jane’s tears stopped. She looked at him with that same angry face he was giving her.

“I will continue to talk to him. I will continue to hang out with him and his friends-”

Brenner grabbed her wrist, which hurt her. Jane didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her in pain.

“YOU WILL STOP SEEING HIM, YOU HEAR ME?!” Brenner shouted.

Jane was unphased by his shouting.

“And I will continue to kiss him,” Jane smiled sadistically at Brenner.

Brenner looked heartbroken at what she just said.

He viciously punched her in the face. She immediately dropped to the floor. Brenner knocked out his own daughter. He put his hands over his head, shocked at what he just did.

 

**NOVEMBER 18 1983**

 

The boys were sitting in their seats in the morning. It was a usual Monday. As kids began to pile into the class, Jane came in. She had a noticeable black eye. She looked down with sadness and walked to her desk.

When she sat down, Mike looked away from his notes and noticed her black eye.

“Jane?!” Mike said, confused by her bruise.

Jane reluctantly turned her head to face him.

“Hi, Mike…”

“What happened?!”

“Nothing…”

“HOLY GUACAMOLE, JANE?!” Dustin shouted.

This caused Will and Lucas to look at her.

Will gasped.

“WOAH, JANE! What happened to your eye?!” Lucas asked, shocked at her big bruise.

Jane wanted to go home. She didn’t want to answer any questions about her bruise, but she had to think of something so they would stop asking.

“I… I fell down the stairs…”

“Wow, that sucks! I remember when I was seven, I almost broke my ribs falling down the stairs!” Dustin said.

“That’s because you’re an idiot!” Lucas joked.

Lucas regained focus on Jane.

“You’re not an idiot, Jane, don’t worry. Accidents happen,” Lucas smiled at her.

“Yeah,” Jane nervously replied.

“That must of been a pretty hard fall!” Mike said.

“It was…”

Mike studied her bruise. He rubbed his chin as he made his thinking face.

“So your face is the only thing that was bruised?” Mike asked.

Jane was panicking on the inside.

“Uh, yeah…..”

“That’s weird…”

“Why’s it weird?” Will asked.

“Because… normally when someone falls down the stairs, multiple body parts are bruised, like arms, legs, and all that stuff. If your face is that bruised, there has to be something else that’s equally as bruised, Jane.”

Jane quickly thought of a response.

“It was a weird fall.”

Mike stared at her again. He wasn’t a scientist, but he could tell she was lying.

The staring got awkward for her. She was bound to break down at any second.

“Alright everyone! Class has started, please turn in your books to page 105!” Mr. Clarke said enthusiastically.

They stopped talking and focused on schoolwork for about 50 minutes.

Something was bothering Mike. He couldn’t’ve of been the only one to see through her, right?

He ripped out a piece of paper from his notebook.

He wrote: _Tell me where you really got that bruise from?_

He folded up the paper and nudged her. She saw him extending the folded paper to her, so she took it.

She opened unfolded the paper and read it.

If she told him the truth, that would only cause more trouble. She wasn’t even supposed to talk to him anymore!

_What?_

She folded the paper back up and handed it back to him.

Mike read it and sighed. Jane heard his sigh and got nervous.

_I’m not gonna tell anyone. It’s just between you and me._

He folded it and handed it to her.

Jane never disobeyed her father like this before. Then again, she never met a boy like Mike.

_I really shouldn’t…_

She quickly handed him the paper, tired of folding it.

Mr. Clarke noticed the two exchanging the paper back and forth, but he was just happy Mike finally got involved with a girl.

_I care about you, Jane. I like you… and kissing you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I need to know who did this to you or else I won’t be able to sleep at night._

Mike got sad after writing that. He handed her the paper.

Jane blushed so hard when she read it. Her father was wrong; Mike helped her see it.

Jane stared at Mike. He caught on and stared at her back. They shared a smile with each other.

Jane nodded her head at him.

She began to write, but the bell immediately rang.

She sighed, stood up, handed him the paper, and walked out.

Mike glued his eyes to the paper.

_It was my fa_

He widened his eyes in shock. He knew exactly who it was.

“Mike?” Will said, concerned about Mike.

Mike got out of his trance.

“Sorry.”

Meanwhile at Hawkins High School, Nancy and Steve were making out in the bathroom right before the start of 2nd period.

“Steve, we’re gonna be late to class!”

“Come on, they don’t care if you’re late at this school!” Steve said as he continued to make out with her.

Steve was the classic jock with glorious hair. Nancy’s friend, Barbara, told her that he was bad news. Nancy felt that he’s different and not everything people say about him is true.

He did have a charming side to him, which is why Nancy fell for him.

Nancy broke up the make-out session for good.

“Maybe not you, Steve Harrington, but normal people like me need to make it to class on time!” Nancy giggled.

Steve looked sad.

“Dammit, I was really banking on us skipping 2nd period together!” Steve sighed.

“Skipping?! What kind of girl do you think I am?!”

“The kind that loves food?!” Steve smirked at her, which caused her to laugh again.

“You’re so silly, Steve!” She slapped his shoulder.

“I am?”

“Kinda.”

“So is that a yes or no on the skipping?!” Steve asked, hoping she’d give a different answer this time.

“Noooo!” She said playfully.

“Dammit! You wanna come to my house Friday? My parents will be gone. It’ll be just you and me.” Steve said.

“Thanks for the offer, Steve, but my parents are also gonna be gone for the weekend!” Nancy explained while keeping her smile.

“Awesome! What’s the problem?!”

Nancy was annoyed with Steve now.

“The problem is that I have a little brother and sister that I need to babysit!”

“Psshhhhhhhh, babysitting? Mike can take care of himself, I doubt he wants you to be watching him!” Steve replied.

“And Holly?”

“Mike can watch her. He’s a nerd, not a baby!” Steve said.

Nancy got very upset at people who made fun of Mike. Even if she name called him sometimes, Mike was still her little brother.

“Hey! Don’t call him a nerd!” Nancy raised her voice.

Steve realized he made a mistake.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you…… Nevermind, forget it.”

There was an awkward silence.

“Just think about it, okay?” Steve said.

Nancy slowly nodded her head and smiled at him.

Steve jumped into her face and kissed her, which prompted another make out session.

 

**NOVEMBER 20 1983**

 

Nancy was in Math. She had one of her close friends with her, his name was Jonathan. Jonathan and Nancy became friends because of their brothers being friends, Mike and Will.

Math ended and the two walked through the hallway together.

“So you got any plans this weekend?” Jonathan asked.

“Nothing exciting. I gotta watch my brother and sister while my parents are away,” Nancy had a tone of disappointment.

“That sucks.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I was thinking that maybe I could come over? I hear the boys are having their D&D campaign anyway. Maybe we could just… hangout at your house?”

Nancy had feelings for Jonathan, but not romantic feelings. Well, she did, but she’d rather have him as a lifelong friend than just another relationship. Every once in a while, he would try flirting with her, or asking her out on a date, but she nicely rejected every time.

“That would be nice, but I really can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just… I’m probably not gonna be in the mood to hang out. I’m gonna be dealing with boys screaming about Dungeons and Dragons and I don’t wanna get you involved with that,” Nancy made her excuse.

She got good at making up excuses.

“Maybe I wanna be involved,” Jonathan smiled at her, which made her smile back.

Out of nowhere, Steve came in between the two and put his arm around Nancy.

“Hey, Johnny, how you doing? We’ll see ya later,” Steve dismissed Jonathan.

Jonathan rolled his eyes and calmly walked away.

“I don’t know why you hang out with that creep,” Steve chuckled to himself.

“I told you, he’s not a creep, he’s my best friend!” Nancy said, sounding too defensive.

“I thought Barbara was your best friend?”

“She is. I have two best friends.”

“There’s no such thing, but OK. You’re either best friends with Barbara the Ginger or Jonathan the Awkward Weirdo.”

“You know, Steve, you can be such an asshole sometimes!” Nancy sounded mad.

“You’re right. I did go a little too far. I’m sorry,” Steve sounded apologetic.

Nancy sighed, but she knew he meant it.

“It’s okay.”

“You thought about what I said?” Steve asked.

Nancy sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Steve… if I say yes, will you stop talking about it?”

Steve got a look of excitement on his face.

“Absolutely! So that’s a yes? You’re coming over Friday?”

“..... I guess. But only Friday night!” Nancy tried to sound strict.

“Yeah, okay, only Friday night.”

Steve and Nancy pecked each other on the lips before heading to their next class.

At Hawkins Middle School, Mike, Will, and Dustin were playing around in the A.V. room, but not Lucas. Lucas said he needed to catch up on schoolwork, but this was a big lie. He just wanted alone time with Jane. For him, this was his biggest chance to win her over.

He saw Jane outside. She always sat on that bench. Something about it comforted her.

He coughed and shyly sat beside her. This caused them to smile at each other.

“Hi, Lucas!” Jane said with a wide smile.

“H-hey, Jane. I see your eye is healing up…”

Jane’s face saddened. The last thing she wanted to think about was what her father did.

“Yeah…”

“So… uhhh… How’s school…?” Lucas asked as he scratched his head.

“It’s good. I’m getting good grades. What about you?”

“Oh, I’m always making good grades, that’s kind of my thing. I’m like a super nerd.”

Jane couldn’t contain her laughter.

“Not really something to brag about,” Jane said, still laughing.

“Yeah, that did sound kinda lame, huh?” Lucas smiled at her.

Jane nodded her head.

“I was wondering… if you wanna come over to my house sometime?” Lucas said nervously.

Jane stopped smiling and got serious.

“I can’t, Lucas.”

“Why not?”

“My dad. There’s no way he’d allow me to go to another house so quickly. Maybe in a few months, but… probably not…”  
Jane frowned. This made Lucas frown.

“That sucks,” Lucas sighed and rubbed his face.

“Lucas, believe me, I wish I could get away from home and hang out with you guys, but that’s just not how life is for me…”

Lucas shook his head with disappointment covering his face.

“Jane, I need to tell you something…”

“What is it?”

“I like you…”

Lucas’ heart was beating so fast.

“I like you too,” Jane gave him a smile.

“No, I mean like, I really like you.”

Jane just realized what he meant.

She opened her mouth in shock.

“Oh…”

“Do you… do you… do you like me?” Lucas asked, hoping she’d say yes.

The last thing Jane wanted to do was hurt him. He was her best friend. She couldn’t tell him about Mike, that would make it even worse.

“Lucas……… I like you as a friend, a really good friend.”

Lucas sighed and looked down. Hearing rejection hurt, no matter how polite it sounded.

“You’re my best friend, Lucas. I just don’t like you in that specific way. I’m sorry,” Jane said, sounding sincere.

She reached out her hand to touch his shoulder. She connected with him but he immediately pushed her hand off of him.

“Lucas!”

“No, this is bullshit!”

Lucas looked and sounded very angry.

“Lucas, calm down!”

“NO! You gave me all these signals, yet you only like me as a friend?!”

“I gave you signals???!!” Jane was confused.

“YES! I knew I shouldn’t’ve got involved with this. Mike was right, I should’ve backed off!”

“Mike?! What does Mike have to do with this?!”

“Me and him were fighting over you. I guess he has a good chance at winning now, huh?”

Lucas saw her body shaking.

“WAIT……….. Are you and Mike together?!” Lucas asked, ready to blow a fuse.

Jane couldn’t lie. She was too scared. She frowned and nodded yes.

Lucas stood up.

“Lucas, wait!”

“What?!”

“Are we still friends?” Jane asked with that innocent voice.

“Fuck you!” Lucas replied, then walked away.

Jane wanted to cry, but doing it in public would only make it worse for her. A few tears snuck out, but for the most part, she contained them.

Jane couldn’t believe they were fighting over her. What did that even mean? Was she just a game to them? To Mike?

Her life might’ve been boring before she met these boys, but it sure as hell wasn’t this hectic!

Lucas marched into the A.V. room and immediately got in Mike’s face and grabbed him by his shirt.

“Lucas, what the hell?!” Mike shouted.

“So you and Jane are going out?”

“What?!”

“You heard me!”

“Yes! Let go of me!”

Lucas let go of his shirt and backed away. Dustin and Will looked on, shocked by the events occuring in front of them.

“I don’t know why you took this girl shit so seriously, man! Things were fine before she showed up!” Lucas said.

Mike got pissed at that comment.

“Are you saying it’s her fault you came in here and attacked me?! Dude, you need to chill out!” Mike replied as he tried to reason with him.

“NO, MIKE! You stole her from me!”

“Stole her?! She chose me.”

“I really liked her!” Lucas’ voice cracked.

“I like her too, man! It wasn’t a competition to me, I just talked to her and we hit it off.”

“More like you talked to her before me. That was your plan!”

Although Lucas might of been acting irrational, he wasn’t completely wrong. Mike wanted her so bad.

“Lucas, it’s just a girl, man. Let’s just drop this and go back to how it used to me,” Mike suggests in a calm tone.

“OK, you wanna make things right? Go and break up with her. Get her out of our lives!” Lucas said.

“You don’t even know what’s going on with her, man. She needs help, like serious help. Help that a shrink can’t provide. We can’t just abandon her!” Mike came to Jane’s defense.

Lucas gave Mike a mean look.

“Fine. Since you won’t kick her out, you can find a new friend. I’m done with you guys,” Lucas said.

“You don’t mean that!” Will said.

“Yeah, it’s just a girl, stop fighting about it, please!” Dustin added in.

“Watch me, here’s the door, and here I go.”

Lucas walked out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

Mike shook his head. Just like that, he lost a friend. What the hell was he gonna do now?

School was over.

Barb was driving Nancy home.

“We should go see a movie this weekend,” Barb suggests.

“Can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Gotta babysit,” Nancy replied.

Barb knew her for so long, she could tell when Nancy lied.

“What’s the real reason?”

Nancy was silent, then sighed.

“Steve…”

“I told you, Nancy, he’s bad news!” Barb reminded her.

“He’s not that bad.”

“He’s literally the biggest asshole at our school!”

“He’s so cute though,” Nancy said shamefully.

“You know he only wants one thing, right?”

“If he wanted that, he would of asked for it during our first three months together. I’m telling you, he’s not like that!”

“Nancy, come on, he knows how innocent you are. He’s trying to catch you in his hook before he reels you in! It’s so obvious!” Barb said, sounding frustrated.

“I don’t even know why I argue with you about this, I’m never gonna change your mind,” Nancy sighed.

“There’s something we agree on!” Barb said, then they both laughed.

A couple of minutes earlier, school was almost out for Jane and the boys.

During the last five or ten minutes of class, Mr. Clarke let his students talk to each other.

Mike tried so hard to get Lucas to talk to him, hell, even look at him, but he wouldn’t. Lucas meant what he said.

Jane felt horrible. She made Lucas upset, something she didn’t think could be possible. All she could think about was that and Mike and Lucas fighting over her. Was she really worth all the trouble she’s caused them? She didn’t think so.

The bell rang. The kids walked out of class. Mike waited for Jane to walk out with him. They walked through hallway and made it outside to his bike.

Lucas, Dustin, and Will already took off on their bikes.

Even though Jane got beat by her father for riding with him, she still rode on the back of Mike’s bike. Mike had to stop a couple of blocks away for safety reasons, obviously.

When they made it to their usual stopping point, Jane got off the bike and sighed. Mike noticed and quickly tried to comfort her.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Mike rode his bike to the sidewalk and got off to talk.

“It’s just… Lucas…”

“Yeah…”

Jane looked at Mike and raised her eyebrows.

“You know about it?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, he grabbed me and started yelling at me about how he really liked you and stuff.”

Jane sighed and rubbed her eyes.

“Lucas told me that you guys were fighting over me?” Jane had to bring it up.

Mike looked stumped.

“Uhhhh, no.”

Mike was obviously lying. Even innocent Jane could tell.

“Why were you guys fighting over me?!” Jane raised her voice.

“It wasn’t really a fight…”

Jane crossed her arms to show how annoyed she felt.

“OK, it was kind of a competition at first, but then I found out how great you are and I totally forgot there was one, well, not totally, because Lucas kept reminding me, but you get my point,” Mike tried explaining.

Jane bought none of it.

“So you’re telling me the only reason why you decided to talk to me…. IS BECAUSE OF A STUPID FUCKING COMPETITION BETWEEN YOU AND LUCAS?!?!!?”

Jane never cursed. Being around the boys changed some things about her.

Mike looked amazed and scared at what came out of her mouth. He never saw her like this. He never saw her this… angry.

“Jane, I don’t look at you like a trophy or anything like that, I really like you!” Mike’s voice cracked.

“I can’t believe I fell for you. Maybe my dad was right,” Jane shook her head.

Disappointment covered her face.

This was where Mike lost it.

“Your dad? YOUR DAD?! Your dad gave you a fucking black eye! Your dad is the reason why you were so lonely and weird before you met me!” Mike said, although he could’ve said it in a better way,

“Shut up, he’s still my father! Okay, sometimes he gets angry and does bad things. Don’t we all do bad things at one time or another? Like for example, me kissing you, that was a bad thing!” Jane said.

Mike’s eyes began to water.

“You know what, we’re done!” Mike said as he got sadder by the second

“Good!” Jane immediately replied.

When she saw him cry, it made her feel so bad. She couldn’t take it back now.

Feeling like his heart got crushed, Mike got on his bike and took off.

Jane looked on as a single tear dripped from her eye.

She thought Mike was the answer. With her father being the dark, she thought Mike could be the light. To her, her father’s overprotectiveness seemed reasonable now. Maybe he was just trying to protect her from having the feeling she currently had, a feeling of sadness, regret, and darkness.

It was even harder for her than it was for Mike.

Mike liked her, sure. Maybe he had thoughts of love sneak into his head. But Jane didn’t like Mike, she loved him.

Jane was lost again, and there wouldn’t be another Mike to save her.


	4. The Realization of Mike and Jane

**NOVEMBER 22 1983**

 

Nancy looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. She was supposed to babysit Mike and Holly, but Steve begged her to stay at his place for the night, so she agreed to it. Tonight was gonna be good. Just her and Steve, what could go wrong?

Nancy went downstairs to find the boys sitting on the couch. They were watching cartoons. The boys look bored and sad.

Nancy knew this was out of the ordinary for them, so she walked in front of the TV to catch their attention.

“Guys?” Nancy said in a confused tone.

The boys collectively sighed.

“Get out of the way!” Mike said, sounding mad.

“No, she can stay there,” Dustin smirked at Nancy.

“What’s wrong? I thought you guys had a campaign?”

Nancy glanced around the room. She sensed something was missing.

It finally came to her.

“Lucas! Where’s Lucas?” Nancy asked.

“Gone,” Mike replied.

“Gone? What happened? He moved?”

“No, they got in a fight,” Will chimed in.

“A fight? What did you guys fight about?” Nancy asked.

She tried to be a good sister.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Mike crossed his arms.

“It was over a girl!” Dustin shouted.

Mike punched Dustin’s arm.

“DUSTIN!” Mike yelled.

“OW! So what? It’s the truth!”

Nancy was in shock. Mike, known as the super nerd to everyone she knew, actually talked to girls?

“Mike, can I talk to you upstairs?” Nancy asked.

“Why?”

“I just… feel we should talk.”

Mike felt weirded out. His sister was never this concerned about his life, like ever.

Mike sighed.

“OK.”

Nancy went upstairs and Mike slowly followed.

They met up in the hallway upstairs.

“Why did you bring me up here for?” Mike asked, feeling annoyed.

“I just wanted to talk to you about this…”

“About what? Girls? Please, save me the lecture.”

“This is serious, Mike! From what I know, this is your first time getting involved with a girl.”

“So?”

“You can’t let girls come into your life and break up your friendships. Most relationships don’t even last that long, but friendships last forever!” Nancy said as she tried to comfort him the best she could.

“This girl isn’t the usual girl though!” Mike said.

Mike knew opening up to her about Jane would only make her ask more questions, so he immediately made a face of regret after saying that.

“You really like her?”

“Do I have to talk about this?” Mike said, which made Nancy giggle.

“No, but it could help. I could give you some advice?” Nancy replied.

“I doubt it, but whatever, ask away!” Mike gave her the OK.

“What’s her name? Where does she live? Have you two kissed? How did you meet her? Did you-”

“STOP!” Mike yelled.

So many questions. Mike wanted to rip his hair out, then hers! He rubbed his face, feeling tired.

Nancy was all ears.

“Her name is Jane Brenner. She lives a couple blocks away from us, I met her at school, she was the new student.”

“And…”

“And what?” Mike said with a confused look.

“Did you kiss her?!”

Mike rolled his eyes at her and sighed.

“....Yes.”

“OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, AHHHH!” Nancy couldn’t contain her excitement.

Her little brother was kissing girls now? He was growing up in front of her very eyes.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Nancy eventually regained her composure.

“Sorry. I need to meet her!”

“Doubt that will happen,” Mike shook his head with disappointment on his face.

“Why?”

“We got in a fight. We broke up.”

“What?! You broke up already?!” Even Nancy was mad and she just found out about his relationship.

“Yeah, and Lucas liked her too, so when he found out I was with her, he ended our friendship.”

Nancy frowned.

“That… sucks.”

Nancy came back down to earth. Her emotions went from super happy to super sad real quick.

“Can I go now?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, but I’m gonna be gone for the night. Holly should be asleep already, so you don’t have to worry about her. Will you be okay without me?” Nancy asked.

“Woah-woah-woah, where are you going?”

“Why does it matter?” Nancy said in an angry tone.

Mike studied her face.

“It’s Steve, isn’t it?”

Nancy grunted.

“So what if it’s Steve?!”

“I spill out everything going on in my life to you, and then you’re just gonna leave me for that shit head?!” Mike shouted, sounding upset.

“Mike, language!”

“You know what, go out with Steve, I don’t care. Maybe you’ll finally realize there’s better guys out there for you!” Mike shouted, then ran downstairs in anger.

As Nancy watched him go downstairs, she thought about what he said. Was she really making a mistake by going out with Steve? Everyone seemed to think so.

She didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to believe the complete opposite, but the thought kept lingering in her mind that maybe, just maybe, she was wrong about Steve.

An hour passed at the Wheeler’s residence.

The boys were in a sad state. Losing a friend did that.

They couldn’t play their D&D campaign, it wouldn’t feel right without Lucas. They honestly couldn’t do anything without him. They all regretted being together on this night, it just made things more depressing.

Dustin, Mike, and Will were eating Pop-Tarts at the kitchen table. The table was silent. They barely said a word to each other the entire time they were there.

“Man, this is bullshit!” Mike slammed his hand on the table.

Will and Dustin were too sad to even flinch. They just looked at him.

“So he’s really not our friend anymore…”

Dustin sounded hurt. He remembered all the good times he had with Lucas.

Will leaned back in his chair and looked up. Boredom. Boredom. Boredom.

“Whatever, if he’s gonna act like an asshole, then he doesn’t deserve to be our friend!” Mike said angrily.

“How can you say that?! You guys have been best friends for the longest time!” Dustin replied.

“Ever since Jane appeared, he’s been different. I’m the bad guy for liking her! The ego that guy has!” Mike shook his head.

“Is he a little hard headed? Yes. Did he overreact at school a couple of days ago? Yes. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s our friend, dude!” Dustin said, sounding very passionate.

Mike looked at him and shook his head no.

“That’s it! You and Lucas have both been acting like giant asshats!” Dustin shouted.

Mike stood up, appalled at what Dustin said.

“How am I an asshat?!” Mike asked.

Dustin stood up to level with him.

“Because, you guys are acting like a bunch of apes fighting over the female! It’s ridiculous! I like her! No, I like her! Come on, you two both gotta grow up and apologize!” Dustin explained.

“First of all, that was a horrible impression of an ape. Second of all, I’m not apologizing to Lucas!”

“Why not?!”

“I don’t have to, that’s why!”

“IT’S OVER A GIRL! A GIRL!” Dustin yelled.

Dustin's face became noticeably red.

“She is not just a girl!” Mike sounded defensive.

“Are you saying you love her?!” Dustin asked, sounding and looking astonished.

“I’m saying that she’s more than you think she is, so back off her!” Mike said.

Mike’s face became red as well.

The two had a stare down. The tension was building. What was gonna happen?

Will stood up, tired of all their bickering.

“GUYS!” Will yelled, which caused Dustin and Mike to turn their attention to him.

“Can’t you see what’s happening?! We’re turning against each other! If we keep this up, we’re all gonna be friendless pretty soon. Mike, stop acting like Lucas wasn’t your best friend for your entire life! Don’t be ignorant, apologize to him! Dustin, don’t make things worse by starting another fight with Mike! Both of you need to wake up and realize that our best friend is gone! And we need to get him back!”

Will slammed his fist on the table, shocking Dustin and Mike.

A silence filled the room as the three boys stared each other down.

“OK, fine, but how are we supposed to get him back from here?” Dustin asked.

Mike knew exactly how.

_3 minutes later_

“Lucas, do you copy? I repeat, do you copy? Over.”

The boys talked to each other through walkie talkies from time to time. If that sounded nerdy, it’s because it was.

This was there way to keep in touch with each other at all times.

Mike sat on his bed as Will and Dustin looked at him. He had the walkie talkie in his hands and was trying his hardest to get Lucas to respond.

“LUCAS, DO YOU COPY? OVER,” Mike shouted.

“LUCAS! Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas! Over,” Mike made Dustin and Will chuckle.

Mike waited for a response... but nothing came.

“Dammit!” Mike gritted his teeth.

“Hello?!”

That wasn’t Lucas, that was Erica Sinclair, Lucas’ little sister.

“Erica, can you put Lucas on!” Mike asked nicely.

“Um, why should I?” Erica replied.

“Because I really need to talk to him, it’s important!”

“I don’t understand, you guys are dorks, what could be so important!” Erica laughed, which made Mike and the boys roll their eyes.

Lucas walked into his room to find Erica on his walkie talkie.

Erica, what the……. Get out of my room!” Lucas screamed.

Erica giggled and ran off.

Lucas shook his head. His sister was too annoying sometimes.

“Erica, can you please put Lucas on!”

Lucas heard that voice. A voice he hated now. A voice he couldn’t stand. A voice of a former friend.

He sighed and hesitated to pick it up.

“Erica? Erica? Come on, please!” Mike begged over the two way radio.

Lucas couldn’t decide what to do. Out of quick thinking, he picked up the walkie talkie.

“I copy. Over,” Lucas said.

Mike jumped out of his bed in shock.

“LUCAS!” Mike shouted.

“Yeah, what?!”

Mike closed his eyes and got prepared for his apology. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. This was it.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry… for everything that’s happened. I understand why you were mad at me, and I bet you understand why I was mad at you, but… I don’t care about that anymore, you’re my friend, my best friend. I realized that no matter how much we fight, I never want to lose you as my best friend, man.”

Lucas gulped hard. He didn’t want to lose Mike either. It’s been harder on Lucas. Mike lost one friend; Lucas lost three. If Lucas didn’t care about showing his feelings, tears would of been sneaking out of his eyes.

“I……. I’m sorry too,” Lucas admitted.

“About everything, I was acting way too crazy about Jane. She likes you, she chose you, and I should just live with it and find the next girl instead of being mad at you. I’m sorry, bro,” Lucas’ voice was shaking.

This reminded Mike of him and Jane’s break up. It made him sad, but he had to hide it for this moment.

There was a long pause.

“.... We didn’t do the campaign. It was too awkward without you here,” Mike made Lucas chuckle.

“You better not have!” Lucas jokingly said.

After laughing for a little bit, Mike realized he couldn’t stay on his walkie talkie forever.

“Alright, well, I’ll talk to you at school?”

“Definitely,” Lucas smiled, although no one could see it.

“Cool! Bye, Lucas!”

“Bye, bro.”

Usually during a walkie talkie conversation, there would be a bunch of overs after each sentence, but this was an exception.

Lucas heard a familiar sound behind him. It was Erica. She was laughing uncontrollably.

“Awwww, Did you and your friend make up?” Erica teased him.

“I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT OF MY ROOM!” Lucas slammed his door shut.

Mike had a huge smile on his face. He was happy he got his friend back.

“NANCY?!” A voice from downstairs yelled.

The boys looked confused. They ran downstairs to find a familiar face.

“Jonathan, what are you doing here?” Mike asked.

“I thought Nancy would be here…”

“Nah, she’s with Steve tonight,” Mike shook his head just thinking about it.

Jonathan looked disappointed. Steve’s? Really? That’s the last place he wanted her to be at.

“Oh, well thanks for letting me know.”

After some awkward looks, Jonathan walked out of there and drove to Steve’s house.

It was late when he pulled up to the side of the road near Steve’s house. Steve had a big house, well actually, Steve’s dad had a big house. Was this weird? Probably, but Jonathan had no choice. He really liked Nancy, and he didn’t want her to make a huge mistake.

He finally saw them through a window.

Steve was furiously making out with Nancy in his room.

Nancy wasn’t expecting there night alone to turn into a make out session, but she couldn’t complain.

As their lips separated momentarily, Steve took off his shirt. This confused Nancy, he never did that before.

They went back to making out passionately. Steve threw her on the bed, which frightened her for a second.

“WOAHHHH!!!” Nancy yelled, then giggled.

Steve climbed on top of her and continued kissing her. She wasn’t used to seeing him without his shirt, but damn, he looked good.

Their mouths started to get tired. They exchanged slow kisses to each other.

There was a pause. Steve just stared at her. She stared back and giggled at how happy he looked.

He started to slowly remove her shirt. This was when she knew it wasn’t a normal make out session.

When he took her shirt off, he planted kisses on her neck. She still had on a bra, but if this went on, she’d be fully naked soon.

Oh no, she was panicking. Nancy thought about what everyone said to her. Mike, Barbara, and countless others told her that all he wanted was sex. That couldn't have been true! Why would he stay with her for months if he didn’t love her for who she is! She wasn’t ready for sex, not tonight anyway. Her mind just wasn’t in the right place.

“Steve…”

She mumbled his name, but he was too busy kissing her neck like a wild animal.

“STEVE!” Nancy yelled, which caught Steve’s attention.

“Huh? What?!” Steve looked up at her, feeling confused.

“Can we stop… please?” She asked in her nicest voice possible.

“Stop? Why? You… you don’t wanna do it?” Steve said, not wanting to believe it.

“I just think we need some more time… is all,” Nancy said.

Again, she tried to sound as nice as possible.

Steve sighed, shook his head, and got out of bed.

“Are you mad?” Nancy asked, sounding really concerned.

He had his back facing towards her.

“Um, yeah, I’m pretty mad actually,” Steve said.

Nancy stood up and tried to hug him from behind, but he heard her footsteps and quickly turned around.

“What the hell do I have to do?!” Steve asked, sounding pissed off.

“What?” Nancy was confused.

“Why won’t you have sex with me? What’s so wrong about it?!”

“Well, nothing. It’s just that… I’m not ready!” Nancy shouted.

Steve shook his head.

“YOU’RE NEVER READY! YOU KEEP ON BLOCKING ME OFF LIKE I’M A DISEASE YOU DON’T WANNA CATCH OR SOMETHING!” Steve yelled.

Nancy was scared. This was exactly what she was afraid of.

“I’M SORRY THAT I’M NOT A SLUT!” Nancy yelled back.

Without missing a beat, Steve responded.

“I wish you were, I’d be a lot happier!”

Nancy was in shock. Who in their right mind would say that to their girlfriend during an argument?!

Steve saw the look on her face and instantly regretted what he said. He was always poor with words.

“That’s not what I meant…… Nancy, come on, I love you!” Steve tried to correct himself, but she was too busy putting her shirt back on.

Nancy’s eyes watered and tears eventually snuck out.

“Bullshit! Our relationship is bullshit! All you want is sex! I should of listened to Barb!” Nancy walked out of his room and headed for the exit downstairs.

When she made it to the front door, he quickly blocked her off from it.

“So that’s it?! You’re breaking up with me, because of one thing I said?!” Steve said, sounding hurt.

“No, I’m breaking up with you because you’ve been an asshole to me and my friends! Everyone warned me about you but I gave you a chance anyway! I’m so stupid!”

Nancy shook her head in shame as tears kept pouring out of her eyes.

“Nancy, I’m sorry, please, don’t break up with me!” Steve begged her.

“WE’RE DONE! NOW GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Nancy yelled.

Steve was in disbelief. He said one thing, one thing, and it was over. All the months of smiling, holding hands, and make out sessions, it was all… over.

Steve walked to the side of the door and let her pass.

As Nancy walked out of the house, she realized she had no ride. Steve drove her there. She didn’t want to go back into his house and call Barb, things would be too awkward!

She saw a car with it’s lights on in the distance. It was a familiar car. She got closer to it…

She finally realized. It was Jonathan’s car!

She ran in front of his car. Jonathan was in the driver's seat. They had this awkward stare down before she walked to his window.

Jonathan rolled his window down.

Nancy had so many questions, but she wasn’t in the mood for talking. She talked enough for one night. She wanted to go home.

“Can you take me home?” Nancy asked as her crying stopped.

Jonathan saw her in pain. He never wanted to see her like that. He liked her so much.

He knew this wasn’t gonna be erased from her memory, and he realized how creepy he looked, but he didn’t care about that right now. All he cared about was her.

“Sure,” Jonathan nodded, maintaining a concerned face.

When Jonathan dropped her off, she got out of the car and looked at her house. HOME. She smiled briefly.

She heard Jonathan’s car and turned around. He drove off.

He was too scared to even look at her.

 

**NOVEMBER 24 1983**

 

It was a sunny sunday afternoon. Jane was watching TV in the living room. Brenner only let her watch cartoons. He was really strict about what she could and couldn’t watch.

All she could think about was Mike. She thought about how much she hurt him, how much she needed him, and how she regretted everything she said. She was in love. It was nearly impossible for Jane to grasp the concept of love at her age, but seeing Mike’s eyes water in front of her made her realize how much she meant to him.

Her dad walked into the room. She knew the sound of his footsteps. She got scared. His presence made her uncomfortable, but she tried to love him anyway.

“Jane?” Brenner said.

She reluctantly turned her head to him.

“Yes, Daddy?”

“I was thinking we should talk.”

“Talk? What is there to talk about?” Jane replied, trying to sound calm.

Brenner sat beside her on the couch. Her body shook a little when he sat down.

“About what happened last week. About our fight…”

Jane was pissed off on the inside. He gave her a black eye and knocked her out, yet he called it a fight?

“What about it?”

Her voice shook.

“I… I want you to know that I care about you… a lot.”

He paused.

“And…. I did something that I’m not proud of. I know that, and I know it was very wrong.”

He never punched her before that day. Jane knew that; that’s why she was willing to give him a second chance. It was still hard for her to accept that… but maybe with time…

“I’m glad you said that,” Jane replied, slightly smiling at him.

“I just want you to know that you mean everything to me. When you brought up your mom, I felt something in me snap, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. When you talked about kissing that boy, it made me lose control of myself. I… I’m sorry,” Brenner admitted, sounding sincere to a certain extent.

Jane couldn’t believe it. Her dad apologized? It had to be a dream.

“I forgive you,” Jane smiled at him again.

All she had left was her dad. Her mom was gone, Mike was gone, so the last thing she needed was for Brenner to hate her.

Brenner smiled briefly, then got serious.

“I still don’t want to see you with that boy, ever.”

Jane almost forgot how strict he was.

“I know you love me, and I know you don’t want me to get hurt by boys, but I think I should be able to make that choice. I just wanna talk to people, but I feel like I’m in a bubble because you don’t want me talking to anyone, especially boys!” Jane explained.

Jane opened up to her father for the first time ever.

“Jane, I know it sounds unusual and strict, but trust me, these boys you wanna talk to, there more likely to hurt you than make you happy.”

Jane sighed. Yes, Lucas yelled at her, and yes, Mike hurt her a little, but those boys were the best thing that ever happened to her.

“What if you’re wrong? What if one boy I meet… makes me happy and… and… makes me feel things I’ve never felt before? What then?” Jane wondered what his response would be, but was mostly frightened of his potential response.

“Then it won’t be too long before they hurt you, which is what I’m trying to prevent!” Brenner raised his voice.

Why was she even trying to reason with him? He would never change.

Jane shook her head.

She thought about Mike, and how happy he made her. Then she thought about her dad, and how trapped he made her feel. It wasn’t difficult to choose.

“Daddy, please, please, please, don’t get mad when I say this, and I mean this with no disrespect…”

Brenner wasn’t excited to hear it, but he had no choice.

“I’m in love with a boy, and there’s nothing you can say or do that will change my mind…”

Jane closed her eyes, afraid of the beating that could possibly be in store.

After ten seconds went by, she opened them back up, only to find Brenner in front of her, blocking the TV.

“So, you think you’re in love?! You don’t even know what love is!” Brenner shouted.

This was the side of him that she didn’t want to see.

“Daddy, please… don’t yell,” Jane was scared to death.

Brenner laughed. He had a crazy look in his eye.

“That’s funny. You tell me you’re in love with a boy, and you expect me to be okay with it?!”

Jane gulped with her eyes wide open. She wished this was a dream.

Brenner marched upstairs. What the hell was he doing?

Jane was scared, confused, hopeless. She wanted Mike. She needed him.

Brenner came downstairs with a baseball bat.

Jane freaked out. He wasn’t actually gonna hit her with that, right? He could kill her!!!

“DADDY!” Jane panicked.

Her heart was beating so fast.

He got back in front of her.

“So you think you’re in love?!” Brenner said.

With the bat in his hand, he extended his arm out in her direction. Jane cried.

With tears dripping down her face, she wasn’t about to die a liar.

“I’M IN LOVE, DADDY! HE’S SO NICE TO ME!” Jane screamed.

More tears dripped down her face.

Brenner closed his eyes, holding the baseball bat with two hands. He took deep breaths, like it was some sort of ritual.

Jane just wanted to die. She wanted to get it over with. Maybe in some other life, she would feel happy.

“What’s his name?!” Brenner asked in a scary tone.

“WHAT??!?!”

“TELL ME HIS FUCKING NAME!”

Brenner swung at the TV and hit it with all his strength. It obviously broke.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! IT’S MIKE!” Jane admitted, having no other choice.

“MIKE WHO?!”  
“WHEELER! MIKE WHEELER! PLEASE… PLEASE DON’T HIT ME!” Jane broke down on the floor, begging with all her life.

“Go to your room. You’re grounded for two months. No TV, obviously,” Brenner chuckled, unphased by what just occurred.

Brenner calmly walked away.

Jane messed up! She just told him Mike's name! Now he was in danger! FUCK. She wished she’d taken the hit. At least she wouldn’t’ve put Mike in this situation.

As she continued to cry on the floor, she realized how right Mike was about her father. He was a ticking time bomb. Playing Rock-Paper-Scissors didn’t seem so scary to her now.

 

**NOVEMBER 25 1983**

 

The boys were back! Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will. They were all happy to be back together. There was way too much drama going on; they were happy to finally be past that… except Mike.

Mike still had thoughts about Jane. She sat next to him after all! She wouldn’t look at him. He thought it meant she hated him. After their fight, it wouldn’t of been out of the ordinary to think that.

Mike still liked her, even after all the things she said. Even after saying she regretted their kiss. That hurt him the most.

The day went on. They ate lunch, they played outside, they got teased by Troy and his friends, but things were back to normal… mostly back to normal.

It was nighttime. Mike tried to sleep, but he just rolled around in bed. He couldn’t get Jane out of his head. He cared about her so much. The rest of the boys were quick to write her off, even Will. He just couldn’t do it. He knew how dangerous her father was. He didn’t want to see her with anymore bruises.

He started thinking. He thought about a lot of things, like how they first met, the sleepover, the kiss. It all happened in such a short time frame…

He thought about what happened after that. She came into school with the black eye, and then they wrote back and forth to each other on a piece of paper.

Wait…… The note!!!

Mike got up and walked around his room like a madman. He still had the note they wrote on!

He knew exactly what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this story is about to get wild.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed it and want more, feel free to: give me kudos, comment, bookmark, ect. Also, feel free to tell me what you like or hate about my story.


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